TUDO DOIS is a photo essay about the Rio de Janeiro based gang Comando Vermelho (Red Command). By 'tudo dois' they mean it's all good, alright, it translates directly to 'all two' as in ✌️, the hand signal also forms a V of Vermelho.

This essay depicts the life of gang members on the streets of Rio and also inside prison. The Penitentiary Complex of Gericinó (AKA Bangu) has a wing only to CV members, to avoid conflicts with other gangs.

A member of Comando Vermelho (Red Command) poses for a photo in one of their bases in a favela. Comando Vermelho was founded in 1979 in a prison in the countryside of Rio de Janeiro, when drug dealers were arrested with political prisoners from the dictatorship. At the time their main goal was to use profits from drug dealing to finance escapes and to better the living situation of the brothers in jail.

Keeping the body active to keep the mind sane. Photo taken in the evangelical pavilion of Bangu prison. A generation of poor young men growing in captivity and stripped of human rights. Not hip enough to gather clicks on social media and make their cause a trend.

A member of Comando Vermelho holds the ‘silver hammer’ in a favela in Rio de Janeiro.

It’s common to find lots of cats in prisons because they help to deal with the rat infestation problem.

CV members packing up bricks to take to other selling spots within this favela.

‘AK’ 12 gauge shotgun, AR-10 7.62 and the infamous hand signal.

‘Bangu’ triage cell for the inmates who are waiting for trial or haven’t been placed in a permanent pavilion yet.

An inmate shows his leg wounds, sustained in the circumstances of his arrest.

Chico is a member of Comando Vermelho in Rio de Janeiro, he left the gang for a while, but after BOPE (Brazilian special ops) shot and then proceeded to point-blank execute his twin brother he decide to join back the gang and fight for vengeance until ‘God tells him to stop’.

A cell for 2 people in ‘Bangu’.

Members of Comando Vermelho cut a brick of weed into 5 Reais (1 Dollar) bags. 

More cats in ‘Bangu’ cells.

Honda XRE 300cc and a Para-FAL riffle.

Day to day communication is made via undisclosed radio frequency.

Another triage cell in ‘Bangu’.

Overview of a neighboring favela.